John C. Polking, professor emeritus of mathematics, passed away June 28 at the age of 93.
Polking received his doctoral degree for a thesis on partial differential equations from the University of Chicago in 1966, after which he served as an instructor at Brandeis University before joining Rice’s faculty in 1968. In 2004, he became a professor emeritus.
“John’s contributions exemplify our commitment to excellence in research and education,” said Thomas Killian, dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences. “His mathematics research advanced knowledge in harmonic analysis and operator theory. His popular MATLAB routines and textbooks provided mathematics students across the country with tools to learn core topics such as differential equations.”
Polking was dedicated to serving the broader mathematics community. From 1981 to 1984, he served as the director of the Division of Mathematical Sciences at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. He served the multiyear term while on leave from Rice University and was elected a fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2013, part of the inaugural class, for his contributions to harmonic analysis, operator theory and spectral theory 7. At Rice, he was also known as an excellent lecturer.
“John was a wonderful teacher. He was a teacher’s teacher,” said Reese Harvey, a professor emeritus of mathematics who joined Rice’s faculty the same year Polking did. “He was also a really good friend, and the person I consulted with on the hardest problems.”
Polking was a member of the Mathematical Association of America for 41 years, serving on the board of governors for 14 years and a member of the International Association of Mathematical Physics. He remained an active member of the steering committee for the IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute, where he edited the Graduate Summer School Lecture Series.
Polking’s research on mathematical analysis focused on harmonic analysis and operator theory. He also contributed to educational mathematical tools, such as the widely used program MATLAB. He authored and co-authored several textbooks, including “Differential Equations,” “MATLAB Manual” and “Ordinary Differential Equations (MATLAB Curriculum Series).”
After being named a professor emeritus, Polking kept a hand in the Rice community, teaching a course every spring semester. When he was not teaching, he spent his free time traveling the world, researching pasta recipes and meeting and marrying his wife, Agnes “Stevie” Coppin-Polking.
A celebration of life for Polking will take place on Anna Maria Island, Florida, in the fall.